Marijuana, an Argument for its Legalization
Deborah Fulbright
English 101, Spring 2007
Mr. FitzGerald
Argument Essay
The controversy over medicinal marijuana has only just begun. Many states cannot decide if they will allow marijuana to be sold medicinally. People die from cigarettes and alcohol, yet no cases of death amongst marijuana smokers. The government decided in the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, that marijuana is not unsafe, and a tax is to be paid to the government after one sells or prescribes the drug. If a doctor prescribed marijuana, he would immediately inform the Federal Bureau of Narcotics with information on whom they prescribed it to, their address, and what ails them (Marihuana tax act of 1937). It seems the government’s real intention was to stop the promotion of hemp use because it was a much better textile product than cotton, which at the time was one of America’s cash crops. There are no written accounts of anyone overdosing from Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active ingredient in marijuana. I will show that all the positives of marijuana out weighing the cons, and should be legalized to use in the United States.
In order to understand the conflict surrounding marijuana usages, one must learn about its vast history. People in India and China were among the first to use marijuana. In China, hemp was readily available. China tamed the crops of hemp for food and used medicinally. Hemp had been discovered throughout China and in burial pits. Some of the crafts and clothing inside the burial pits were made with hemp. India used it as an intoxicant in religious ceremonies. Ancient Chinese texts describe its medical uses and potential nutrition. Warriors were known to make bhang from hemp and drink it to calm their nerves before a battle. The drug then spread through the Middle East and on into Africa (Marijuana).
In 1839, European interest in the drug was aided by two scientific reports. W. B. O’Shaughnessy released the first report and Queen Victoria’s physician, Russell Reynolds, released the second. Both men recommended its medical use for a variety of ailments and as a mild euphoriant. It was readily available with out a prescription. Even popular writers of the nineteenth century, Gautier and Baudelaire, made their feelings of the marijuana well known, even joining a club where they experiment with hash, a resin-like substance made from marijuana.
The United States can only speculate how the drug was first introduced. Some say it was the slave trade, others think it came through trades with the Asian market, but a majority believe the Spaniards brought it over. During the nineteenth century, hemp was readily available for its textile properties in addition to its medicinal uses (Marihuana). Early Americans grew hemp readily to enhance their “medical well being.”
Medicinal use of marijuana appears in ancient Chinese scripts, yet the debate has only come to the forefront of America recently. In the article, “The Adverse Effects of Cannabis”, W. Hall dispels the myths and rumors surrounding marijuana usage. He discusses how people feels it lowers your immunity levels, and that there are very few studies have ever even come to that conclusion and much more research would be needed to be done in order to prove such a claim. He also discusses how many people feel it distorts driving ability, Hall gives several references to studies in which people who drive while they are high are aware of their impairment, unlike intoxicated people, and thus they would be more careful while driving (Hall).
Another report by C.H. Ashton discusses the possible therapeutic affects of marijuana. Its uses were investigated for possible appetite stimulants, analgesics and antispasmodics for epilepsy, asthma and glaucoma. He feels that in small doses marijuana helps asthma. Also he found that it provides a pressure relief for patients who have glaucoma, which develops from massive pressure on the eye. However just like any other prescribed drug it does not work on all epileptic people, stating it only benefits approximately two-thirds of the users. Further investigation goes on to other uses including an antihypertensive agent, hypnotic agent or antidepressant (Ashton). Only eleven of the current fifty states allow medical marijuana, even with its proven medical benefits (NORML).
For the government to be so opposed to the use of marijuana; there must be some negative effects. In 1937, the government passed the Marihuana tax act. It contains:
“SEC. 2. (a) Every person who imports, manufactures, produces, compounds, sells, deals in, dispenses, prescribes, administers, or gives away marihuana shall (1) within fifteen days after the effective date of this Act, or (2) before engaging after the expiration of such fifteen-day period in any of the above mentioned activities, and (3) thereafter, on or before July 1 of each year, pay the following special taxes respectively: (Marihuana tax act of 1937).” It then continues on listing the amount of each tax to be paid to the government, with penalties resulting in five years incarceration or two-thousand dollars in fines. With nearly twenty-four million people in America having tried marijuana and with a remaining 3.4 million still using regularly (Marihuana), It was the first steps for the government took to control the use of marijuana. What is the government still protecting us from? Now, their best ideas to combat are small anti-drug campaigns aimed to discourage elementary age children from trying marijuana.
The overall effect after consuming cannabis is complete relaxation. Tension leaves the body, headaches, nausea, and fatigue quickly evaporate, an intense feeling of elation courses through the mind. In social settings deep, analytical and spiritual conversations make the slowed brain synapses reach all new level within one’s mind. This leads everyone within the group to be much more open-minded. Elation and relaxation, unfortunately, last only a few hours.
The lack of proper research on marijuana has led to great speculation and many lies about the long-term effects of marijuana use. Some often presumed that someone would kill their brain cells as they consume marijuana. Paul Hager’s article, “Marijuana Myths”, discusses two studies by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Medical Association that both feel with their research on marijuana does not contribute to brain damage. Further, the AMA even said they feel marijuana should be decriminalized. Many other people worried about the long-term effects marijuana has on reproductive systems. Dr. Gabriel Nahas began his claim that marijuana damages the reproductive system with experimenting on certain tissue cells in Petri dishes and giving near-fatal doses to monkeys. The scientific community rejected Dr. Nahas experiments with the Petri dishes as invalid, and the monkeys were back to normal within thirty days after the end of the experiment. Dr. Robert Heath used four rhesus monkey and massive doses of marijuana to show permanent short-term memory loss. The memory loss was disproved because the lack of controlled during testing and only using four monkeys. In addition, impairing of short-term memory in fact only happens while a person is under the influence. Another experiment tried to show a negative effect on the immune system. The experiments stating this result again used animals with incredibly high doses of marijuana, but the tests showed that it actually improved the immune system (Hager).
In 1995, Paul Hager, chair of the ICLU Drug Task Force, released a list of facts that exposed the many myths of marijuana use. He claims in order for someone to overdose on marijuana they would have to consume 40,000 times what it takes them to get high (Hager). In March of 1999, the Institute of Medicine released a report that concluded, “the combination of cannabinoid drug effects (anxiety reduction, appetite stimulation, nausea reduction and pain relief) suggests that cannabinoids would be moderately well-suited for certain conditions such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting (Waiting).” Marijuana if smoked is able to cause ailments within the lungs over extended amounts of time. However, there are many ways to use marijuana. Marijuana can be consumed in food or there are even THC tablets for people to take instead of smoking the actual marijuana.
The government has decided that marijuana use, no matter the benefits, should not be legal in America. If the government decided to allow legal marijuana, the benefits would surpass all expectations. The government could easily be able to regulate sales, just as they do alcohol and cigarettes. Jail populations for non-violent criminals would decrease, government revenue would increase, and all those who use for religious, medicinal, or recreational reasons would be able to enjoy this healing plant, without persecution (Cannabis). In Holland, during the seventies, the Dutch legalized marijuana, since then hard drug use dropped off (Hager). People use marijuana to relax and it has found that it replaces other drugs people use for either relaxation or recreation. Marijuana can only be as useful as the government allows it and until the government understands its true effects and finds a way to regulate it commercially it will remain illegal.
The positive effects from individual marijuana use completely outweigh any slight negative effects that are quite rare throughout all research. The whole history of marijuana shows that we have used it for many types of applications; including medicine, clothing, and food. In 1937, the government tried to get revenue from marijuana. With no scientific proof of its mythical downfalls, Marijuana should be legalized.
Works Cited
Cannabis Culture magazine
http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v05/n1385/a04.html
Hager, Paul. “Marijuana Myths.” 20 July 1993. 23 Nov. 2006
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_info14.shtml
Hall, W., Solowij N “Adverse effects of cannabis”, The Lancet, 1998 Nov 14; 352(9140):
1611-6. http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/references/journal/1998_hall_lancet_1/1998_hall_lancet_1.pdf
“Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding.” The Report of the US National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. (1972) 24 Nov. 2006. http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_culture3.shtml
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. 24 Nov. 2006. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/mjtaxact.htm
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. 24 Nov. 2006. http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516
Jordan McMullin “The History of Drugs: Marijuana” (2005) Pages 1-33
Alan Bock “Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Medical Marijuana” (2000) page 110
English 101, Spring 2007
Mr. FitzGerald
Argument Essay
The controversy over medicinal marijuana has only just begun. Many states cannot decide if they will allow marijuana to be sold medicinally. People die from cigarettes and alcohol, yet no cases of death amongst marijuana smokers. The government decided in the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, that marijuana is not unsafe, and a tax is to be paid to the government after one sells or prescribes the drug. If a doctor prescribed marijuana, he would immediately inform the Federal Bureau of Narcotics with information on whom they prescribed it to, their address, and what ails them (Marihuana tax act of 1937). It seems the government’s real intention was to stop the promotion of hemp use because it was a much better textile product than cotton, which at the time was one of America’s cash crops. There are no written accounts of anyone overdosing from Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active ingredient in marijuana. I will show that all the positives of marijuana out weighing the cons, and should be legalized to use in the United States.
In order to understand the conflict surrounding marijuana usages, one must learn about its vast history. People in India and China were among the first to use marijuana. In China, hemp was readily available. China tamed the crops of hemp for food and used medicinally. Hemp had been discovered throughout China and in burial pits. Some of the crafts and clothing inside the burial pits were made with hemp. India used it as an intoxicant in religious ceremonies. Ancient Chinese texts describe its medical uses and potential nutrition. Warriors were known to make bhang from hemp and drink it to calm their nerves before a battle. The drug then spread through the Middle East and on into Africa (Marijuana).
In 1839, European interest in the drug was aided by two scientific reports. W. B. O’Shaughnessy released the first report and Queen Victoria’s physician, Russell Reynolds, released the second. Both men recommended its medical use for a variety of ailments and as a mild euphoriant. It was readily available with out a prescription. Even popular writers of the nineteenth century, Gautier and Baudelaire, made their feelings of the marijuana well known, even joining a club where they experiment with hash, a resin-like substance made from marijuana.
The United States can only speculate how the drug was first introduced. Some say it was the slave trade, others think it came through trades with the Asian market, but a majority believe the Spaniards brought it over. During the nineteenth century, hemp was readily available for its textile properties in addition to its medicinal uses (Marihuana). Early Americans grew hemp readily to enhance their “medical well being.”
Medicinal use of marijuana appears in ancient Chinese scripts, yet the debate has only come to the forefront of America recently. In the article, “The Adverse Effects of Cannabis”, W. Hall dispels the myths and rumors surrounding marijuana usage. He discusses how people feels it lowers your immunity levels, and that there are very few studies have ever even come to that conclusion and much more research would be needed to be done in order to prove such a claim. He also discusses how many people feel it distorts driving ability, Hall gives several references to studies in which people who drive while they are high are aware of their impairment, unlike intoxicated people, and thus they would be more careful while driving (Hall).
Another report by C.H. Ashton discusses the possible therapeutic affects of marijuana. Its uses were investigated for possible appetite stimulants, analgesics and antispasmodics for epilepsy, asthma and glaucoma. He feels that in small doses marijuana helps asthma. Also he found that it provides a pressure relief for patients who have glaucoma, which develops from massive pressure on the eye. However just like any other prescribed drug it does not work on all epileptic people, stating it only benefits approximately two-thirds of the users. Further investigation goes on to other uses including an antihypertensive agent, hypnotic agent or antidepressant (Ashton). Only eleven of the current fifty states allow medical marijuana, even with its proven medical benefits (NORML).
For the government to be so opposed to the use of marijuana; there must be some negative effects. In 1937, the government passed the Marihuana tax act. It contains:
“SEC. 2. (a) Every person who imports, manufactures, produces, compounds, sells, deals in, dispenses, prescribes, administers, or gives away marihuana shall (1) within fifteen days after the effective date of this Act, or (2) before engaging after the expiration of such fifteen-day period in any of the above mentioned activities, and (3) thereafter, on or before July 1 of each year, pay the following special taxes respectively: (Marihuana tax act of 1937).” It then continues on listing the amount of each tax to be paid to the government, with penalties resulting in five years incarceration or two-thousand dollars in fines. With nearly twenty-four million people in America having tried marijuana and with a remaining 3.4 million still using regularly (Marihuana), It was the first steps for the government took to control the use of marijuana. What is the government still protecting us from? Now, their best ideas to combat are small anti-drug campaigns aimed to discourage elementary age children from trying marijuana.
The overall effect after consuming cannabis is complete relaxation. Tension leaves the body, headaches, nausea, and fatigue quickly evaporate, an intense feeling of elation courses through the mind. In social settings deep, analytical and spiritual conversations make the slowed brain synapses reach all new level within one’s mind. This leads everyone within the group to be much more open-minded. Elation and relaxation, unfortunately, last only a few hours.
The lack of proper research on marijuana has led to great speculation and many lies about the long-term effects of marijuana use. Some often presumed that someone would kill their brain cells as they consume marijuana. Paul Hager’s article, “Marijuana Myths”, discusses two studies by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Medical Association that both feel with their research on marijuana does not contribute to brain damage. Further, the AMA even said they feel marijuana should be decriminalized. Many other people worried about the long-term effects marijuana has on reproductive systems. Dr. Gabriel Nahas began his claim that marijuana damages the reproductive system with experimenting on certain tissue cells in Petri dishes and giving near-fatal doses to monkeys. The scientific community rejected Dr. Nahas experiments with the Petri dishes as invalid, and the monkeys were back to normal within thirty days after the end of the experiment. Dr. Robert Heath used four rhesus monkey and massive doses of marijuana to show permanent short-term memory loss. The memory loss was disproved because the lack of controlled during testing and only using four monkeys. In addition, impairing of short-term memory in fact only happens while a person is under the influence. Another experiment tried to show a negative effect on the immune system. The experiments stating this result again used animals with incredibly high doses of marijuana, but the tests showed that it actually improved the immune system (Hager).
In 1995, Paul Hager, chair of the ICLU Drug Task Force, released a list of facts that exposed the many myths of marijuana use. He claims in order for someone to overdose on marijuana they would have to consume 40,000 times what it takes them to get high (Hager). In March of 1999, the Institute of Medicine released a report that concluded, “the combination of cannabinoid drug effects (anxiety reduction, appetite stimulation, nausea reduction and pain relief) suggests that cannabinoids would be moderately well-suited for certain conditions such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting (Waiting).” Marijuana if smoked is able to cause ailments within the lungs over extended amounts of time. However, there are many ways to use marijuana. Marijuana can be consumed in food or there are even THC tablets for people to take instead of smoking the actual marijuana.
The government has decided that marijuana use, no matter the benefits, should not be legal in America. If the government decided to allow legal marijuana, the benefits would surpass all expectations. The government could easily be able to regulate sales, just as they do alcohol and cigarettes. Jail populations for non-violent criminals would decrease, government revenue would increase, and all those who use for religious, medicinal, or recreational reasons would be able to enjoy this healing plant, without persecution (Cannabis). In Holland, during the seventies, the Dutch legalized marijuana, since then hard drug use dropped off (Hager). People use marijuana to relax and it has found that it replaces other drugs people use for either relaxation or recreation. Marijuana can only be as useful as the government allows it and until the government understands its true effects and finds a way to regulate it commercially it will remain illegal.
The positive effects from individual marijuana use completely outweigh any slight negative effects that are quite rare throughout all research. The whole history of marijuana shows that we have used it for many types of applications; including medicine, clothing, and food. In 1937, the government tried to get revenue from marijuana. With no scientific proof of its mythical downfalls, Marijuana should be legalized.
Works Cited
Cannabis Culture magazine
http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v05/n1385/a04.html
Hager, Paul. “Marijuana Myths.” 20 July 1993. 23 Nov. 2006
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_info14.shtml
Hall, W., Solowij N “Adverse effects of cannabis”, The Lancet, 1998 Nov 14; 352(9140):
1611-6. http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/references/journal/1998_hall_lancet_1/1998_hall_lancet_1.pdf
“Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding.” The Report of the US National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. (1972) 24 Nov. 2006. http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_culture3.shtml
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. 24 Nov. 2006. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/mjtaxact.htm
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. 24 Nov. 2006. http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516
Jordan McMullin “The History of Drugs: Marijuana” (2005) Pages 1-33
Alan Bock “Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Medical Marijuana” (2000) page 110
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